A Betrayal in Winter

Exiled from his family's ruling house decades ago, Otah Machi has lived a life removed from the Machi, a world he never intended to revisit. But with his father, the Khai, on his deathbed and his eldest brother, Biitrah, brutally assassinated, Otah is compelled to return to the heart of Machi. Tradition dictates a deadly struggle among the dying Khai's sons for succession, yet a far more sinister plot unfolds within the city walls. The expansive Galtic Empire, a long-standing rival, has seemingly allied with an unknown traitor within Machi to dismantle its ruling family from within. Otah, the long-absent brother with a clear, albeit false, motive, quickly finds himself accused of Biitrah's murder. As he navigates a treacherous landscape of ancient customs, political maneuvering, and sexual betrayal, Otah must unravel the true conspiracy before Machi's future is irrevocably lost, all while fighting to clear his name and survive a family poised for self-destruction.